Real Love: Chapter One
Real Love
Title: Chapter One
Authors: lovely_rita_mm & jenny_wren28
Starring: The Beatles (specifically John Lennon) and Maggie Sue
Rating: R for language, sex, & implied drug use.
Disclaimer: We don’t own any of the Beatles, this obviously never happened, and much to the real Maggie’s disappointment, is a complete work of fiction.
Hello Readers! Finally it is here, the first chapter of our 3rd book, "Real Love"
In case you are just tuning in, this is a sequel to both Yes It Is (wherein our heroine time travels to 1964 meets John Lennon and tries to change the past to save his life) and Tomorrow Never Knows (wherein her adventures with the Beatles continue).
You can read both books plus some extras here:
http://yesitis-fic.livejournal.com/6153.html
So, without further ado, here is Chapter One of "Real Love":
Chapter 1
The rabbit died. That was the expression they used in the 60s, wasn’t it, when someone was pregnant? Well, she was definitely pregnant. She knew it, even though there were no instant pregnancy kits available in the 1960s. She knew it, even though she hadn’t been able to bring herself to go to a doctor for one of those horrible “rabbit tests”. And she was terrified. There were a number of reasons for her fear, and not the least was worrying about 1960s medicine. Did they
even have epidurals? And how backwards it was to have to wait until the baby was born to find out its gender?!
Maggie knew that she was obsessing about these things to avoid having to think about the thing that worried her most. She sighed to herself, as she turned the corner near her office at Apple Records, and then froze when she saw George Harrison standing just outside of it.
Panic gripped her, and before she knew what she was doing, she found herself darting into a nearby broom closet and pulling the door closed behind her.
This was stupid, and she knew it. She had to talk to George and soon - definitely before she could tell John anything about the pregnancy.
She leaned her head against the wall and moaned quietly, because the fact was, she wasn’t sure who the baby’s father was, other than that it was definitely a Beatle. More specifically, the father was either John or George.
It has to be John, she thought to herself. It HAS to. She didn’t have any proof that she’d even done anything that might cause pregnancy with George. Of course, it didn’t help that she couldn’t actually remember much of what had happened that night, thanks to the unaccustomed amount of alcohol she’d drank. She vowed right then and there to NEVER smoke pot again. What had she been thinking?
George had come over to comfort her when she’d thought that John had left her for Yoko, and one thing had led to another. She knew that they had at least kissed, but whether things had progressed any further, she had no idea. She hadn’t admitted anything to John about what had transpired that night - they’d had enough drama to last a lifetime and there was no sense in creating more over something that was over and done, especially when John had proposed a fresh start for both of them. Her kiss with George had been about how it had made her feel at the moment: loved and wanted at a time when she thought the man she loved more than anything else in the world had tossed her aside. For Yoko.
She slid to the floor and rested her chin on her knees, as she hugged them tight to her body.
She’d never brought up that night with George either, embarrassed by the whole situation. Sooner or later she’d have to come to terms with what had really happened. It was past time to get things out in the open, at least between the two of them.
“Maggie Sue?” George’s voice sounded softly from the other side of the door. Maggie’s head snapped up and she thought frantically. Maybe if she was just quiet he would realize this closet was empty and go away.
The door creaked open an inch, letting in a ray of light, and showing a slice of George’s rangy frame and tousled hair.
“You’re avoiding me, aren’t you?”
She shot to her feet, and began picking up cleaning supplies at random. “No! The mops need to be checked is all. You know, it’s important that I make sure things stay clean here. Now go away so I can check them properly, please.”
The door closed behind, her and Maggie, breathed out a sigh of relief.
Until the overhead light came on.
Maggie shrieked, and George wrapped his arms around her from behind. “Shhhh luv, it’s just me. Calm down!”
Rather then calming down, Maggie jerked away, and tripped over the mop bucket before falling square onto a wet mop, which left the seat of her skirt wet.
“Luv, look at you, you’re nearly jumping out of your skin! Are you buzzing?” He said this with a perfectly serious expression on his face. He really was worried. “I thought that everything was alright between you and John now…”
Maggie took his proffered hand and stood up slowly. “No - I mean yes!” Frustrated she closed her eyes, and said between gritted teeth. “No, I’m not high, and yes John and I are fine. Now will you please go away?”
“No.”
Maggie opened her eyes and saw George leaning casually across the front of the door, with his arms crossed in front of him.
“What do you mean ‘No’?”
“I’m not leaving until you tell me why you’re avoiding me.”
“Uh…” Maggie, surprised by his directness and unable to answer him, bit her lower lip and started inspecting her split ends with deep fascination.
George drummed his fingers against his bicep, and looked at her unblinking. “You are, aren’t you?” He sighed.
“I am what?”
“Damn. I was afraid of this,” George said to himself before addressing her. “Luv, don’t feel guilty about what happened between us. You didn’t know John wasn’t really with Yoko. You don’t have anything to feel badly about. You needed to be with someone and I was glad I could be there for you. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Maggie stared at the mop bucket silently.
“Does he know?” George asked.
“NO!” Maggie finally looked at him. “Are you crazy?”
“I think he’d understand. Well, I might get a punch in the mouth, but ultimately I think he’d get how unhappy you were, and well, we were both high and you were also drunk, so it’s not like something we’d have done normally.”
“Are you CRAZY?” Maggie gaped at George like had two heads. “There’s no way he’d understand.”
“What’s the big deal? People do it all the time - it doesn’t have to mean anything. I mean, it did mean something to me, because it was you,” George added hastily. “But it doesn’t have to be a big thing…”
“George, I’m pregnant.” Maggie couldn’t bear to hear him keep going on about how little sex meant. She already knew that Beatles treated sex like it was nothing. God, how could she have gotten herself into this?
“That’s wonderful! Congratulations! John must be thrilled.” George opened his arms up to hug her, but she held her hand against his chest, keeping him at arms length.
“You ARE crazy. He doesn’t know.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I’m not sure who the father is!” Why wasn’t George catching on to what she was trying to tell him?
George looked thunderstruck. “WHAT? You didn’t…. who was it? Not Mick, I hope?”
Maggie just stared at him, her jaw hanging open in surprise. Was he really that thick? “No, dummy, I’m talking about you. I don’t know if it’s John’s or… or yours.”
George burst out laughing. “Maggie, luv, you’re a little old to need a lecture on how babies are made, aren’t you?”
“I know how babies are made,” Maggie snapped. “What I’m not clear on is exactly what happened between us that night.”
“Oh? Oh…” George sobered up quickly.
“I can’t remember anything after we starting kissing,” Maggie admitted. “The next thing I knew, I was waking up in just a t-shirt and you came into the room wearing nothing but a towel.”
“Oh, luv, I’m so sorry - I didn’t know you’d blacked out or I would have reassured you sooner.”
Maggie looked up at him hopefully.
“Nothing happened. I mean, other than us snogging a bit.” At Maggie’s slightly blank look he clarified. “Kissing. That’s all.”
“That’s all? Really?” Relief washed over Maggie. The baby was definitely John’s and now she could enjoy it without guilt. That night she’d been broken-hearted at the thought of losing the love of her life and had kissed her best friend in a moment of drunken and drugged abandon. That she could deal with. That sounded way better than getting drunk and then knocked up by her now-husband’s bandmate did.
“Yes, really. Not that I didn’t want to, you know… do more, but you were really out of it and so cooler heads prevailed. Are we going to be okay then, you and I?” He looked at her, a worried expression painted across his face.
Maggie smiled at him, and leaned over to hug him. “Of course, George. Thank you - for coming over when I called, and for taking care of me. I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you. I just didn’t know what to think about that night, and when I found out I was pregnant…I was just so afraid that I’d screwed things up between me and John, and me and you - and you and John. I just didn’t know what to do.”
“It’s okay. But you know you can always come to me, no matter what, right?” George hugged her tight.
“I do. Thank you.”
George leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “Congratulations on the baby. I’d tell you to name it after me, but I wouldn’t want to give John the wrong idea,” he winked. George couldn’t resist teasing her. “Although, you could always just tell him, you’re naming it after your favorite Beatle…”
“Why would I saddle a baby with a name like Ringo?”
“Touché,” George laughed. “I’d better let you get back to work. We have plans to record some demos of things we wrote in India at my place later this week. You’ll come, right?”
“I wouldn’t miss it.” Maggie sighed happily, glad and content that this had all been sorted out. She had her best friend back, John didn’t want Yoko, and all was right in the world!
* * *
George whistled as he walked down the hallway. The memory of what had happened between he and Maggie was still fresh even though that fateful night had been nearly two months ago. She’d been devastated by the belief that she’d caught John and Yoko together.
The kiss had started innocently enough. Maggie Sue had been looking up at him, with tears in her eyes, so vulnerable and sweet. Their lips had been so close that it barely took any movement on his part to touch his to hers.
He couldn’t explain what had happened next, or why. It was as if his mind had left and his body was merely reacting to the familiar feeling of having a woman in his arms. The fact that he cared deeply for this woman was what had gotten him into this position, but once he was there, pure instinct and years of conditioning had taken over. It wasn’t all his fault. In his defense, she’d kissed him back. And when his tongue had gently probed her mouth, she’d responded to his touch, opening herself up to him.
Their kisses had gone from gentle and exploratory to passionate, and it wasn’t long before George realized that they were lying down on the bed, and that he was on top of her. The curves of her body fit his lanky form perfectly.
He’d struggled a bit for self-control, but forced himself to pull back for a moment and contemplate the situation. He knew he could happily go through with this, and not feel the least bit guilty about it. If John had done what he appeared to have done, then he didn’t deserve her. As for Pattie, well, he’d been unfaithful before. That was no big deal. Especially as this woman was a friend, and a friend who needed comfort. He was glad to have been there to supply it.
Yes, the memory of that night was still fresh for George and now the scene replayed itself in his head unasked.
George looked down at Maggie’s tearstained face and suddenly realized that if he were to make love to her, he didn’t want it to be this way. He didn’t want it to seem like he was taking pity on her, or taking advantage of the state she was in. Maggie didn’t indulge often, and she’d gotten both very drunk and high tonight. No, this wasn’t the right time for this.
Settling himself next to her, he gave her a gentle kiss on the lips and stroked her hair away from her face. “Sweetheart, I think we’d better stop. It’s been a difficult night for you, and much as I’d like to do this, I think you’ll regret it tomorrow. And I don’t want that. I would never want you to regret anything that happened between us.”
His words filtered through the haze in her brain and made her sit up suddenly. “Oh God, George. What are we doing? This is wrong! Pattie...”
“Shh, it’s okay. Don’t worry about anything.”
“But...”
“You’re unhappy and not in control. It’s okay to not be in control sometimes.”
“But we were...”
“But we didn’t. Luv, don’t think about it anymore tonight. You really just need some rest right now. Why don’t we get you changed, so you can get some sleep? I’ll stay in the guest room in case you need me.”
“Okay. God, this is so embarrassing.” Maggie put her head in her hands.
“Why, luv? We were only doing what was natural. But in the state you’re in tonight, it just...didn’t feel right. But I’d be more than happy to, well, pick this up another time, if you ever wanted to.”
“George...”
“Let’s just leave it at that for now, okay?” He went over to the dresser and rummaged through the drawers until he came up with a large t-shirt. “Why don’t we get you into this.” He handed it to her.
“Turn around!”
“Please, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. I’m a Beatle, remember?” He grinned at her, but turned around to oblige her. When she had changed, he tucked her in. She was half-asleep already. She would be fine for tonight. He wasn’t sure how she would be tomorrow though, once the enormity of tonight sunk in, plus she was certain to have one hell of a hangover.
One thing was for sure, he was going to have a few choice words for John. Yoko! How could he hook up with that biscuit-stealing bitch? He kissed Maggie’s forehead fondly and went downstairs to lock up before crashing in the guest room.
Pulling his mind back to the present, George wandered into his office, and sat down for a moment. After going over everything he’d said to Maggie that night in his head, he was half-glad she couldn’t remember everything. He had meant what he’d said, though at the time he’d thought John had been on the verge of leaving her. If she’d been left on her own, the temptation to pursue her himself might be strong. George contemplated his life with Pattie and tried to gauge his own sense of happiness.
It was a moot point now. John and Maggie were now happily married, and her friendship was more than enough for him. Knowing that she was cared for and about was what was important. Especially now that there was a baby on the way. He felt a twinge of jealousy. What if it had been his? Could he even have children? He and Pattie had never used birth control and he hadn’t managed to get her pregnant yet. He knew she wanted a baby badly. Maybe they should start really trying again. Maybe having a family would cure some of the restlessness George had felt since returning from India. At this point, George wasn’t sure what would. Increasingly, being a Beatle didn’t feel like it was enough. As full as his life was, it often rang hollow and empty. He’d felt on the verge of something in India, but having to leave abruptly had shattered some of the peace for him.
Just then, a cute blonde passed by his door. He hadn’t noticed her before - was she a new secretary? As a part owner of Apple, wasn’t it George’s job to find out? His lips quirked into a lopsided grin as he left his office in pursuit of what might prove to be an interesting diversion.
~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N
Thanks for your patience dear readers - we hope you liked Chapter 1! Tune in next Sunday for Chapter 2!
Continue to Chapter Two
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